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This coming Saturday, July 5th, at 9PM Brazil Time (that is New York 8pm, Los Angeles 5pm Saturday night, London 1am and Paris 2am early Sunday morning) we are pleased to welcome MONJA ISSHIN HAVENS from the Jisui Zendô in Brazil, to lead us in Zazenkai.

IT'S THE WORLD CUP OF ZAZEN!

Isshin Havens began her training in the Soto Zen tradition at the Busshinji Temple in São Paulo, Brazil, receiving monastic ordination from Coen Souza, Sensei. She realized four years of training at the Women’s Monastery in Nagoya, Japan (Aichi Senmon Nisôdô), where she performed Dharma Combat under the guidance of Aoyama Shundô Roshi, abbess of this monastery.

After one year advanced training in the US (Zen Center of Los Angeles and Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, New York, under the guidance of Egyoku Nakao Roshi and Daido Loori Roshi respectively), she returned to Brazil where she spent one year as assistant to Coen Sensei (Zendo Brasil, Sao Paulo) before moving to Porto Alegre to lead practice groups in that city in the south of Brazil.
She received Dharma Transmission from the Master Baika (Buddhist Hymm Singing) Teacher, Shûki Onoda Roshi (Abbot of Ryûzô-ji in the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata-ken, Japan) and performed Zuise ceremonies at the head temples Eihei-ji and Sojiji.

She is Resident Teacher at Jisui Zendô (Sanga Águas da Compaixão – Sangha Waters of Compassion) and affiliated sanghas. She is a collaborating member of the Colegiado Buddhista Brasileiro, Collaborating Lecturer for UnipazSul and Speaker for the Universidade Falada.. Leads Zen retreats, as well as Rakusu Sewing Retreats, and teaches Baika. She published one book “A Vida Compassiva: Compaixão”, as part of a proposed series of six, as well as several magazine articles. Isshin is a Kokusai Fukyoshi (International Missionary) for the Soto Shu (Soto School) of Japan.

The talk will be inspired by Master Dogen's Shobogenzo Bodaisatta Shisho-Ho (POSTED BELOW IN THIS THREAD). Monja Isshin requests all attendees to read it before the Zazenkai.

If you would like to attend AND CAN COMMIT TO ATTENDING, please PM or E-MAIL to JUNDO to say so. We only have 8 seats available for the TWO-WAY GOOGLE+ HANGOUT, so I apologize if not everyone who wishes can be seated, and for asking for a commitment to attend. HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ALL SEATS FULL ON THAT DAY. Of course, everyone who wishes will be able to sit "one-way" at the screen below. If you cannot join us live, FEAR NOT, as the entire event will be recorded and available for all to sit at any time thereafter.

LIVE ZAZENKAI NETCAST at GOOGLE+ IS HERE:CLICK ON THE TAB ON LOWER RIGHT FOR 'FULL SCREEN

So, BEM-VINDO A MONJA ISSHIN!

Gassho, Jundo

PS - This will be in place of our usual monthly Zazenkai this weekend!

PPS - We apologize for the time for folks in Europe. Isshin's schedule is very very tight most mornings.

[71] First is free giving. Second is kind speech. Third is helpful conduct.
Fourth is cooperation.1

[72] “Free giving”2 means not being greedy. Not being greedy means
not coveting. Not coveting means, in everyday language, not courting favor.3
Even if we rule the four continents, if we want to bestow the teaching of the
right truth, we simply must not be greedy. That might mean, for example,
donating treasures that are to be thrown away to people we do not know.
When we offer flowers from distant mountains to the Tathāgata, and when
we donate treasures accumulated in our past life to living beings, whether
[the gift] is Dharma or material objects, in each case we are originally endowed
with the virtue that accompanies free giving. There is a Buddhist principle
that even if things are not our own, this does not hinder our free giving. And
a gift is not to be hated for its small value, but its effect should be real. When
we leave the truth to the truth, we attain the truth. When we attain the truth,
the truth inevitably continues to be left to the truth. When possessions are left
to be possessions, possessions inevitably turn into gifts. We give ourselves to
ourselves, and we give the external world to the external world. The direct
and indirect influences of this giving pervade far into the heavens above and
through the human world, even reaching the wise and the sacred who have
experienced the effect. The reason is that in becoming giver and receiver,
the subject and object of giving are connected; this is why the Buddha says,
“When a person who gives comes into an assembly, others admire that person
from the beginning. Remember, the mind of such a person is tacitly
understood.”4 So we should freely give even a single word or a single verse
of Dharma, and it will become a good seed in this life and in other lives. We
should freely give even a single penny or a single grass-stalk of alms, and it
will sprout a good root in this age and in other ages.5 Dharma can be a treasure,
and material gifts can be Dharma—it may depend upon [people’s] hopes
and pleasures. Truly, the gift of a beard can regulate a person’s mind,6 and
the service of sand can gain a throne.7 Such givers covet no reward, but just
share according to their ability. To provide a boat or to build a bridge are
free giving as the dāna-pāramitā.8When we learn giving well, both receiving
the body and giving up the body are free giving. Earning a living and
doing productive work are originally nothing other than free giving. Leaving
flowers to the wind, and leaving birds to time,9 may also be the meritorious
conduct of free giving. Both givers and receivers should thoroughly
learn the truth which certifies that Great King Aśoka’s being able to serve
half a mango10 as an offering for hundreds of monks is a wide and great service
of offerings.11 We should not only muster the energy of our body but
should also take care not to overlook suitable opportunities. Truly, it is because
we are originally equipped with the virtue of free giving that we have received
ourselves as we are now. The Buddha says, “It is possible to receive and to
use [giving] even if the object is oneself, and it is all the easier to give to
parents, wives, and children.” Clearly, to practice it by oneself is one kind
of free giving, and to give to parents, wives, and children may also be free
giving. When we can give up even one speck of dust for free giving, though
it is our own act we will quietly rejoice in it, because we will have already
received the authentic transmission of one of the virtues of the buddhas, and
because for the first time we will be practicing one of the methods of a bodhisattva.
What is hard to change is the mind of living beings.12 By starting with
a gift we begin to change the mental state of living beings, after which we
resolve to change them until they attain the truth. At the outset we should
always make use of free giving. This is why the first of the six pāramitās is
dāna-pāramitā.13 The bigness or smallness of mind is beyond measurement,
and the bigness or smallness of things is also beyond measurement, but there
are times when mind changes things, and there is free giving in which things
change mind.

[78] “Kind speech”14 means, when meeting living beings, first of all to
feel compassion for them and to offer caring and loving words. Broadly, it
is there being no rude or bad words. In secular societies there are polite customs
of asking others if they are well. In Buddhism there are the words “Take
good care of yourself!”15 and there is the disciple’s greeting “How are you?”16
Speaking with the feeling of “compassion for living beings as if they were
babies”17 is kind speech. We should praise those who have virtue and should
pity those who lack virtue. Through love of kind speech, kind speech is gradually
nurtured. Thus, kind speech which is ordinarily neither recognized nor
experienced manifests itself before us. While the present body and life exist
we should enjoy kind speech, and we will not regress or deviate through
many ages and many lives. Whether in defeating adversaries or in promoting
harmony among gentlefolk, kind speech is fundamental. To hear kind
speech spoken to us directly makes the face happy and the mind joyful. To
hear kind speech indirectly etches an impression in the heart18 and in the
soul. Remember, kind speech arises from a loving mind,19 and the seed of a
loving mind is compassion. We should learn that kind speech has the power
to turn around the heavens; it is not merely the praise of ability.

[80] “Helpful conduct”20 means utilizing skillful means21 to benefit living
beings, high or low; for example, by looking into the distant and near
future and employing expedient methods22 to benefit them. People have taken
pity on stricken turtles and taken care of sick sparrows.23When they saw the
stricken turtle and the sick sparrow, they did not seek any reward from the
turtle and the sparrow; they were motivated solely by helpful conduct itself.
Stupid people think that if we put the benefit of others first, our own benefit
will be eliminated. This is not true. Helpful conduct is the whole Dharma.
It universally benefits self and others. The man of the past who bound his
hair three times in the course of one bath, and who spat out his food three
times in the course of one meal,24 solely had a mind to help others. There
was never a question that he might not teach them just because they were
the people of a foreign land. So we should benefit friends and foes equally,
and we should benefit ourselves and others alike. If we realize this state of
mind, the truth that helpful conduct naturally neither regresses nor deviates
will be helpfully enacted even in grass, trees, wind, and water. We should
solely endeavor to save the foolish.

[82] “Cooperation”25 means not being contrary.26 It is not being contrary
to oneself and not being contrary to others. For example, the human Tathāgata
“identified”27 himself with humanity. Judging from this identification
with the human world we can suppose that he might identify himself with
other worlds. When we know cooperation, self and others are oneness. The
proverbial “harps, poems, and sake”28 make friends with people, make friends
with celestial gods, and make friends with earthly spirits. [At the same time,]
there is a principle that people make friends with harps, poems, and sake,
and that harps, poems, and sake make friends with harps, poems, and sake;
that people make friends with people; that celestial gods make friends with
celestial gods; and that earthly spirits make friends with earthly spirits. This
is learning of cooperation. “The task [of cooperation]”29 means, for example,
concrete behavior, a dignified attitude, and a real situation. There may
be a principle of, after letting others identify with us, then letting ourselves
identify with others. [The relations between] self and others are, depending
on the occasion, without limit. The Kanshi30 says: “The sea does not refuse
water; therefore it is able to realize its greatness. Mountains do not refuse
earth; therefore they are able to realize their height. Enlightened rulers do
not hate people; therefore they are able to realize a large following.” Remember,
the sea not refusing water is cooperation. Remember also that water has
the virtue of not refusing the sea. For this reason it is possible for water to
come together to form the sea and for the earth to pile up to form mountains.
We can think to ourselves that because the sea does not refuse the sea it realizes
the sea and realizes greatness, and because mountains do not refuse
mountains they realize mountains and realize height. Because enlightened
rulers do not hate people they realize a large following. “A large following”
means a nation. “An enlightened ruler” may mean an emperor. Emperors do
not hate the people. They do not hate the people, but that does not mean there
is no reward and punishment. Even if there is reward and punishment, there
is no hatred for the people. In ancient times, when people were unaffected,
nations were without reward and punishment—at least inasmuch as the reward
and punishment of those days were different from those of today. Even today
there may be people who seek the truth with no expectation of reward, but
this is beyond the thinking of stupid men. Because enlightened rulers are
enlightened, they do not hate people. Although people always have the will
to form a nation and to find an enlightened ruler, few completely understand
the truth of an enlightened ruler being an enlightened ruler. Therefore, they
are glad simply not to be hated by the enlightened ruler, while never recognizing
that they themselves do not hate the enlightened ruler. Thus the truth
of cooperation exists both for enlightened rulers and for ignorant people, and
this is why cooperation is the conduct and the vow of a bodhisattva. We should
face all things only with gentle faces.

[85] Because these four elements of sociability are each equipped with
four elements of sociability, they may be sixteen elements of sociability.

Shōbōgenzō Bodaisatta-shishōbō
Written on the fifth day of the fifth lunar
month31 in the fourth year of Ninji32 by a monk
who went into Song China and received the
transmission of the Dharma, śramaṇa Dōgen.

-----------------

Notes

1 Shishōbō, the four methods for social relations, or the four elements of sociability
(from the Sanskrit catvāri saṃgrahavastūni; see Glossary of Sanskrit Terms), are
listed and explained in chap. 66 of the Daichidoron. They are also mentioned in the
Daibadatta (“Devadatta”) chapter of the Lotus Sutra (LS 2.208), and in the eleventh
chapter in the twelve-chapter edition of Shōbōgenzō, Ippyakuhachi-hōmyōmon. See
Vol. IV, Appendix III.
2 Fuse, from the Sanskrit dāna.
3 Master Dōgen first explains the Chinese word fuse, “free giving,” with the Chinese
word fudon, “not being greedy,” which he then explains using a Japanese word written
in kana, musaboru, “to covet.” Finally he takes his explanation further using
another colloquial Japanese word, hetsurau, which means to curry favor through
groveling, flattery, etc.
4 Paraphrased by Master Dōgen in Japanese from chap. 24 of the Zōitsuagongyō, the
fourth of the Āgama sutras.
5 Traditionally dāna is categorized into āmiṣa-dāna, zaise, “giving of material gifts”
(by lay Buddhists to monks) and dharma-dāna, hose, “giving of Dharma” (by monks
to lay Buddhists). Master Dōgen alludes to that distinction in these two sentences. A
third category of dāna is sometimes added, namely abhaya-dāna, mui-se, “giving of
fearlessness.” See, for example, LS 3.252.
6 Alludes to the story that when an officer in the court of the Tang emperor Taisō (r.
627–649) fell sick and needed the ashes from a beard for medicine, Taisō burned his
own beard and gave the ashes to the officer.
7 The Aikuōkyō (King Aśoka Sutra) tells the story of a child who was playing in the
sand when the Buddha came by on an almsround. The child put an offering of sand
into the Buddha’s almsbowl, and by virtue of his giving he later became King Aśoka.
8 Dando. Dan represents the sound of the Sanskrit dāna. Do, lit., “crossed over,” represents
the meaning of the Sanskrit pāramitā, which literally means “gone to the far
shore.” See Vol. I, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.
9 Leaving owls to hoot at night, cocks to crow in the morning, etc.
10 Anra represents the sound of the Sanskrit āmra, which means mango.
11 Alludes to a story in chap. 5 of the Aikuōkyō. King Aśoka is said to have become the
ruler of a vast Indian empire two hundred and eighteen years after the Buddha’s death,
and to have reigned from 269 to 232 B.C.E., converting many peoples to Buddhism.
He had edicts in local languages carved on rocks and specially erected pillars throughout
his empire. King Aśoka also sponsored the Third Council held in Patna in 235
B.C.E., during which the Abhidharma (commentaries) were added to the existing
Thera vāda (Pāli) canon of Vinaya (precepts) and Sutra (discourses).
12 Cf. “That without constancy is the buddha-nature. That which has constancy is the
mind that divides all dharmas into good and bad.” (Master Daikan Enō, quoted in
Chapter Twenty-two [Vol. II], Busshō.)
13 The six pāramitās are dāna-pāramitā (giving freely), śīla-pāramitā (observance of
precepts), kṣānti-pāramitā (forbearance), vīrya-pāramitā (diligence), dhyāna-pāramitā
(the balanced state of zazen), and prajñā-pāramitā (wisdom).
14 Aigo, literally, “loving words,” from the Sanskrit priya-ākhyāna.
15 Chinchō, literally, “value [yourself] highly.” This expression is used, for example, in
Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji, paragraph 241, by Master Fuyō Dōkai when finishing
his talk and taking his leave.
16 Fushin no kōkō ari, literally, “there is the act of filial piety of ‘it is not totally clear.’”
The expression fushin, “everything is not totally clear” or “I do not know everything
in detail,” appears at the beginning of a disciple’s question to a master in many of
the stories in the Shōbōgenzō. See, for example, Chapter Twenty-two (Vol. II), Busshō,
paragraph 89: “I wonder. . . .” Master Dōgen himself uses the expression rhetorically
in Chapter Twenty-one (Vol. I), Kankin, paragraph 188. It is a kind of polite formula,
and at the same time a polite greeting from student to teacher.
17 Quotation from a Chinese text; source untraced.
18 Kimo literally means “the liver.”
19 Shin, kokoro means not only “mind” but also “heart.” In fact the Chinese character
shin is originally a pictograph of a heart. In this translation of the Shōbōgenzō, shin
has almost always been translated as “mind,” but the intended meaning is the subjective
side of the whole human state, not only intellectual consciousness.
20 Rigyō, “helpful conduct” or “beneficial conduct,” from the Sanskrit artha-carya, useful
conduct. See Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.
21 Zengyō, lit., “good skill”; short for zengyō-hōben, “skillful means” or “skillful expedients,”
from the Sanskrit upāya-kauśalya. See Vol. I, Glossary of Sanskrit Terms.
22 Hōben. See note 21.
23 A Chinese chronicle, the Shinjō (History of the State of Shin) says that a man called
Koyu saved a turtle in distress and as a result of this good act he later became the
governor of a district in the state. Another chronicle, the Taigunikki, says that a nineyear-
old boy called Yoho took care of an injured bird, and as a result of this good act
his descendants ascended to three top positions in the Chinese government. See also
Chapter Thirty (Vol. II), Gyōji, paragraph 207.
24 The Chinese history Shiki says that when a king called Shuko appointed his son
Hakukin as a district governor, Shuko told his son, “If three guests came while I was
taking a bath, I would bind my hair three times to meet them, and if three guests came
while I was eating, I would stop eating three times to meet them. . . .”
25 Dōji, lit., “identity of task,” from the Sanskrit samāna-arthatā which literally means
“identity of purpose” or “sharing the same aim” (see Glossary of Sanskrit Terms);
or, to use a more colloquial expression, “being in the same boat.” Dō means “same”
and ji means “thing,” “matter,” or “task.”
26 Fui. I, “different” or “contrary,” is opposed to dō, “the same,” in dōji.
27 Dō zeru. The character dō is as in dōji.
28 The Daoist text Goshainzui says that harps, poems, and sake are [a hermit’s] three
friends. Master Dōgen picks up this sentence and uses it to express the principles of
mutual agreement between subject and object and identity of subject and object.
29 “The task [of cooperation]” is the character ji of dōji. Real cooperation is not abstract
but is always related to a concrete task.
30 Kanshi is the name of a Chinese Daoist text in twenty-four volumes attributed to
Kanchu (Ch. Guanzi). Scholars suspect that there were actually several different
authors.
31 Tango no hi. The fifth day of the fifth lunar month was a day of celebration, referred
to as tango no hi. In Japan today, the term tango no hi is still sometimes used for the
national holiday on May Fifth (Children’s Day).
32 1243.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

Hi Jundo,
In the Tanahashi Shobogenzo it is fascicle 46....... I'm reading both translations.

Gassho
Yugen

-----------------------------------------------------------
Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

We are a little less than 12 hours from our Zazenkai with Monja Isshin. Thanks to all, we have a full house for the Hangout, plus many folks who will be sitting with us from home. For those in the Hangout, I will send out invites about 10 minutes or so before the event. The name of the circle is "Monja Isshin Zazenkai from Brazil".

Deep bows to all. Monja Isshin, do hope you are feeling better soon. Many thanks for the beautiful talk. I too come from a very, very strict Christian family, found my home on the zafu. Great questions everyone. Jundo, thank you for inviting Monja Isshin to speak.

Thank you Monja Isshin for your wisdom and grace - Thank you Jundo for bringing us together - and Thank you Sangha for the opportunity to practice.

Deep bows
Yugen

-----------------------------------------------------------
Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

Thank you Monja Isshin for your practice, for your compassion and for you manifest wisdom. A beautiful talk which enabled me to understand much. Many thanks also to Jundo for arranging this, so wonderful
Gassho
Taikyo

Thanks to Isshin-sensei for her talk. The Q&A from Joyo and Jundo were the most striking for me. Thanks to them for bringing up how to work with generosity and our need for nourishment in practice, and how Japanese priest training does not bring forth the more humanistic (Avolkisteshvara) side of compassion. For me, this is about being well rounded in practice.
Thanks.
Shinzan

Thank you, Monja Isshin. It was wonderful to take part in this event. Thanks also to Jundo for organizing this event. I would also like to offer deep bows to Nengyo for notifying me of his connection problems and offering me his seat in the Zendo.

Thanks to Isshin-sensei for her talk. The Q&A from Joyo and Jundo were the most striking for me. Thanks to them for bringing up how to work with generosity and our need for nourishment in practice, and how Japanese priest training does not bring forth the more humanistic (Avolkisteshvara) side of compassion. For me, this is about being well rounded in practice.
Thanks.
Shinzan

Hi Shinzan,

I would not say that Japanese style priest training does not bring forth humanistic compassion. It is just that they are generally not trained to counsel couples on marriage troubles, deal with drug addictions, students with psychological problems and the like that modern Western clergy are often called upon to do. On the other hand, I think that much of Western Buddhism ... especially in the "Mindfulness" area ... has gone too much into being a form of therapy, with Teachers who are professional psychologists more than Buddhist clergy in the Traditional sense.